About HorseHeard

HorseHeard is a UK registered charity working with horses to promote positive emotional health and resilience outcomes for children, young people and adults in need.

We provide structured programmes or bespoke solutions depending on the client or partner needs.

Who do we work with?

HorseHeard works with diverse groups, creating the appropriate intervention for the presenting need. Amongst those that we have successfully worked with:

UK County Councils – Cumbria and Cardiff

Further education colleges

Those Not in Employment Education or Training

Primary and secondary schools

Special needs schools and Pupil Referral units

Other aligned charities and social enterprises

Young carers and those in care

UK armed forces veterans

Targeted Outcomes

HorseHeards programmes have been designed to facilitate appropriate outcomes for its target groups. Those attending our programme would be expected to develop:

Heightened self awareness and core life skills

Strengthened self confidence and self esteem

Stronger and more sustained interpersonal skills

The ability to acknowledge and manage their emotional state

An acceptance of diversity and difference

The ability to work effectively alongside others

Display a readiness for learning and heightened motivation

What we offer

We focus on the provision of high impact interventions which combine classroom based exploration and discussion with practical experiential interaction with horses. The approach is to deliver services that reflect the requirement, in so doing we aim to be flexible such that we can tailor the deliverable to accommodate the needs of individual attendees.

We can deliver as a strategic partner in boarder programmes or as a sole partner offering our own in-house developed programmes and with a network of trained representatives and facilitators around the UK we can provide consistent support for regional and national interventions and programmes.

Take the LEAP

Take the LEAP is our programme which works with college students and other teenage groups to develop life skills sought by employers. It targets leadership and employability, helping them to develop and practice SMART goal setting. Through a combination of individual and group challenges they can sharpen and demonstrate their self-awareness and confidence, as well as the ability to work with and influence others. Developing skills that are applicable from the examination room, to the interview and on into the workplace.

Those attending the programme should expect outcomes which reflect:
– Heightened self-awareness and core-life skills;
– Attain a greater level of confidence and self-esteem around personal goal setting;
– Understand one’s personal power and the benefits of self-management;
– A greater understanding of the demands of the workplace

Being Friends

The Being Friends programme sets out to work with mainstream Primary Schools and Year 5 school children and their teaching staff to develop emotional resilience. It is a five week programme which targets not only personal learning but sustained behaviour change.

The core outcomes from this programme are about developing and maintaining friendship and community, specifically:
– Develop and maintain friendships;
– Work with and care for others;
– Increase confidence and self-esteem, and;
– Reduce inappropriate behaviour through awareness of choice.

Week one provides an introduction to teaching staff and parents, then four consecutive weeks which follow a structured build towards the defined objectives. Programmes are deliver for groups of up to 12 Young People.

We always use our best efforts to ensure the physical, mental and emotional safety of our clients, our co-facilitators and the horses we work with. Interacting with horses in equine facilitated learning can bring life-changing insights. Horses are at the heart of what we do; they are equal partners and co-facilitators in our programmes. Our role as facilitators is to create and hold the space for the horses to work their magic.

Our philosophy is one of trust, respect and co-operation – with our horses, our colleagues and our clients.

Our model delivers principally at equine facilities with other people’s horses; our aim is that their experience in working with us is always a positive complement to their usual daily activities. We do not work with horses in round pens or in other confined spaces, to avoid putting horses under pressure. We respect horses’ needs for friends (equine companions), freedom (living out / turnout) and forage (grazing).